The Assassins
by FinnickOdair-Will-Live-Forever
Summary: Spending years underground training to murder innocents would turn anyone bitter. After an invasion at Camp Half-Blood, all Demigods are being held by the government. They are trained to kill, and anyone who tries to escape will be shot on sight. This is how they escaped, and the consequences.
1. Chapter 1- Prequel

**So, this is the story that one the poll! I hope you enjoy it, and I don't own PJO. Also, I know I said they were going to be spies, but I changed my mind. THIS IS A PREQUEL, by the way! :)**

"Faster, Chase, faster! You're supposed to run on that thing, not walk! _Faster_, damn it!" The trainer barked at me. I unwillingly upped the speed on my running machine. My leg muscles burned savagely and I could feel my thighs trembling. It was my third running slot of the day and usually I could hold on until the end, but it was a Saturday. I was tired and waiting eagerly for Sunday, the only day off we were granted in this hell hole. My breathing was growing heavy and my eyes were in danger of rolling to the back of my head. I was pretty determined to finish my slot, to hold on just a little bit longer. However, everyone's body has limits. Unfortunately, that included mine.

"Can't…Do it…" I punched the stop button, hating myself for giving up so soon into my slot. The exercise machine creaked to a halt. The trainer clicked his fingers, and two men came forward. Each took one of my arms, and dragged my shameful self through the training room. I caught one of my sibling's eyes on the way out and she bit her lip, shaking her head sadly. I was dragged back to my room. All of the rooms were ten minutes from the training room, so that we could get there early for our morning slots. The men threw me in and I landed on my bed, wincing slightly at the minor impact.

"We'll be back in ten minutes. Maybe a little whipping will help you focus and start moving properly." He sneered at me, before turning on his heel and leaving with his colleague. We were allowed breaks whenever we wanted, but the breaks came with consequences. Running machine training was never exactly _enjoyable_. We ate breakfast at six o'clock in the morning six days a week for an hour, ran until nine, lifted weights or ran simulations for three hours, ran again at twelve, ate lunch for an hour, trained with weapons for three hours until four o'clock, ran again after that until six, had a half hour break before running again, studied cases for two hours, ate dinner at ten thirty for a half hour and then it was lights out. The only reason we could last the whole day was because they fed us mashed up pieces of ambrosia in our breakfast. It seemed like the word 'torture' didn't even come close to describing the mental and physical agony of the packed schedule. I was living in a nightmare, in hell, in a place where only evil things were achieved...It was worse than the Underworld and I had nobody to blame but myself.

Every night, dreams of Camp Half-Blood plagued my mind. I could practically feel the soft sea spray hitting my face, and the cool summer breeze tugging at my hair. The grass was always green, the strawberries were a vibrant red, the cabins gleamed in the sunlight and the Big House looked welcoming. It was as if even the Gods were taunting me, showing me what I couldn't have.

My name is Annabeth Chase. I'm a Demigod, aged seventeen. Almost exactly a year ago, the government found us. We've been working for them as trained assassins ever since, and believe me when I say it's like living in a horrible night terror. We are being held against our will. Any Half-blood that tries to escape will be shot and killed without hesitation. It's been demonstrated to us before.

This is the story of how we escaped.

**So…Shall I continue? Chapters will, of course, be longer than this. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, I'm back! Sorry I took a break, it was for revision!**

**Nico's P.O.V:**

A buzzer went off, signalling that it was time for our break. Not that it affected me, of course. I wasn't training to be an assassin, like the others. I was being held in a small, white room similar to solitary only it was a little different. Somehow, the government pigs had figured out how to make a room that constantly drained my energy and meant I couldn't shadow travel out of this place. I don't how they did it, but it worked. I didn't know as much as I would like too, but the other Demigods had the better deal with brutal training and the occasional whipping. It was marginally better than sitting in a bright white room all day, condemned to madness. Thalia was granted access to visit me every now and again, and she brought me information. She hadn't visited me in weeks, but she was probably exhausted. The government training system tended to do that to you. All I knew was that the other Half-bloods were planning an escape, and that Chiron was being held next door to me. They had broken his legs or something, and without ambrosia or nectar they couldn't heal and he couldn't stand. He just lay there, all day. I was kind of glad that my guards had decided to leave my legs intact.

"Di Angelo. You have a visitor." The man guarding the room pulled the door open and shoved Thalia through. Scowling, she steadied herself. She turned to look at me, and my heart leapt into my throat. We had been dating for a month before they came and seeing her like this hurt me. Her face was bruised and covered in cuts, and I could see a bandage around her stomach, sticking out from under her T-shirt.

"Thals? What happened?" I hugged carefully her for a while before releasing her and stepping back.

"We finally put an escape plan to action. Some others and I were the distraction; we got jumped on by Miss Doe's little henchman. There was a little bit of a tussle. A few punches were thrown, the usual. Nothing serious until…"

"Until what, Thalia?" The bandage on her stomach poked out of her shirt, teasing me and reminding me that I hadn't protected her like I could have if I wasn't stuck in this damn room.

"Well, like I said, we got ourselves into a little fight. The others and I were proving a challenge for the beef men, especially me. I struck one with a lightning bolt and his gun fired when he fell. I don't remember anything after that, so I must have passed out or something. Apparently I was worth saving though; Miss Doe told me I'd had and operation to remove the bullet and then stitches." She smiled weakly. My mouth dropped. Escape had been on the cards ever since we'd got here…But I never imagined anyone would get seriously hurt. Especially not Thalia. She was _strong_- she'd never backed away from a challenge before. Taking on armed men was apparently too much for even her.

"Oh my Gods… Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Nico. Don't worry about me. It's Annabeth I'm worried about."

"Did she get out?"

"Well, she and Percy made a break for it. They made it to the exit doors. That's further than any rogue Demigod's ever made it before, but they didn't get out. Percy got let off, but Annabeth… She's in solitary. Two weeks, I think. And I've heard they've had enough, Nico. Those Government monkeys have had enough with us playing up, not following rules. I don't even wanna think about what solitary is like now." She sighed and rubbed her arms, looking at the ground.

"Hey, this is Annabeth we're talking about. She's one of the strongest Demigods I know, she saved Olympus for Hades sake! It's gonna take a lot to break her. She'll be fine." I promised.

"I hope you're right." She still didn't look too happy. "It's not fair, Nico. We're not freaks; we're teenagers. Nobody deserves to live like this. Normal kids our age hang out above ground, chat with their friends, go to school and see their families. They'll never have to worry about being forced to train to kill in some crappy underground facility."

"We'll get out one day." I said. I didn't know what else to reassure her, to persuade her that everything would be okay if we just held on a little longer.

"Yeah? So what happens if we don't? What happens if we _don't _escape and we end up stuck down here forever?!" She snapped, months of pent up aggression finally spilling out of her mouth. I was about to answer her when one of the guards from outside threw the door open.

"You've been in here a minute too long, Grace. My bosses will have my head for this." He grabbed her by the shoulder, ignoring her glare, and escorted her out of my room. After slamming the door behind him, he went soon out of sight. Thalia was usually allowed to spend more time in here; I guess they didn't want us planning another escape.

I was worried about Annabeth. I meant what I'd said, she was tough and it would take more than a few whip marks to break her. But this was the government. You never knew what they would do, or what they were capable of. Two weeks felt like an exceedingly long time when you're undergoing torture. I'd spent a week in solitary when we first got here and they didn't know what to do with me. It had been bad enough without any another form of punishment being involved, and that was before I almost went crazy. Annabeth's getting desperate now, I can tell from Thalia tells me. But if anybody can survive solitary, and whatever else they throw at her, it's Annabeth. At least, that's what I'm hoping.

**Sorry it's so short, but an update's and update. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, I have not been very clear on the setting and stuff of this story, but don't worry I'll explain it all in this chapter!**

I knocked on the wall of my room. All of the rooms here were tiny, with a bed, clock, bedside table and lamp. No personal items were allowed. My room was next to Thalia's. She knew that was her cue to cause a distraction. I heard a door shut, and I knew she had gone to wake Piper and Katie. Will, Connor and Travis had agreed in another distraction, but I was unaware of what it was. It was lights out one hour ago, but no Demigod could sleep tonight. It was time. I waited ten minutes until I heard screaming and the pounding of footsteps. The distraction seemed to be working well on our side. Silently, I picked the lock on my door and slipped out. On our way out of Miss Doe's office Percy had 'accidently' walked into the janitor and slipped his key off of the back of his belt. I had it now, in my jeans pocket.

I darted back into my room as two security guards ran past, chasing the girls. When I was sure it was safe I stepped back into the corridor, breathing heavily. I ran silently to the other end of the corridor, ducking into the shadows whenever someone ran past. I wore blue jeans, my Camp Half-Blood shirt, sneakers, and a grey jacket over the top. I unlocked the janitor's closet on my side, and then the other side. Percy was waiting for me, looking serious. Will and the Stools stood behind him, but ran through and onto the girl's side to help with the distraction. Percy kissed me on the forehead, and I pulled him through the doorway. We sprinted towards the exit. It felt like we were running miles, knowing that our freedom was just ahead of us. We face too many twists and turns to be sure we were going the right way, but we seemed to be alone, at least. Security was focusing on the six Demigods running around the facilities, leading them away from us.

And then we saw it. The exit was insight. It was locked but the Stolls had taught how to pick every kind of lock in the country, and how to crack every code. Just as we were about to reach the code panel, a shadowy figure stepped in front of us.

"You really think we're that stupid? Darlings, we have _every _room in this place under surveillance." Miss Does stepped out of the shadow and into the flickering light. She grinned at us, her rid lipstick covered mouth stretched out.

"We can take you, easily." I hoped I sounded braver than I felt.

"Think you take them?" She clapped her hands, and ten huge men came running out if rooms. They were built like trees, and I knew Percy and I couldn't escape with them in our path.

"No…" Percy trailed off.

"You're lucky I'm not going to shoot you, sweethearts. This is just a blip, right? You'll be back to normal for your quest." It wasn't a question, but more of a statement.

"Um, yeah." I said, looking at the floor. We had failed. Now none of us would ever get to leave this place. No Annabeth, don't think like that. Of course you'll escape. You just have to figure out _how_.

"However, Miss Chase…I understand you are the ringleader of all of this? Percy, you are free to go back to your room. Annabeth, you will be place in solitary until your mission. Dismissed." She turned and walked away, the men still blocking the exit. One grabbed Percy's arm and pulled him back to his room. Another threw me over his shoulder and carried me to solitary.

Let me explain solitary to you. In the heart of the facility, there's a small white room. It has a door that locks from the outside and a small window that you can't see through. The people on the over side, however, can see you. You are given a piece of ambrosia at the start of the day, and a slice of bread with a glass of water at the end. It was enough to drive someone crazy. There was nothing in the room, and you had to sleep on the floor.

I was shoved inside the room, and the door was slammed shut. It was late, and even though the whiteness almost blinded me, I managed to get some sleep. But of course, I dreamt.

_I was running down Half-Blood Hill, Percy hot on my heals. We had been dating for two weeks now, and it was finally the end of summer. We had won the Titan war. I reached the bottom of the hill first._

"_I win!" I laughed and Percy laughed with me._

"_You got lucky this time, Chase."_

"_You wish, Jackson." He smiled and kissed me on the cheek. Out of nowhere, big black van pulled up next to us. A woman got out. She wore her brown hair up, had on a grey pantsuit and way too much red lipstick._

"_Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson. We've been watching you and your peculiar friends for a while now. I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me." She smiled at us, looking scarily like a grinning wolf._

"_We're not going anywhere." I said, crossing my arms. In one swift motion, the lady grabbed Percy, pulling him towards her. She pulled a gun out of her pocket and pressed it to his temple._

"_Yes you are, sweetie. Now grant us all access into your precious Camp, or your little boyfriend gets the bullet."_

"_Don't do it Annabeth! Don't let them in." Percy whispered, pleading with me. I wouldn't meet his eyes. _

"_I, Annabeth Chase, grant you and all of your…People…Permission to enter Camp Half-blood." I said as what seemed like hundreds of men pulled up in black vans. They got out and ran into Camp, screaming things at the Campers as they drew their swords. Swords were no match for guns though, and eventually they rounded us all up._

"_Where are you taking us?" I asked as I was shoved into the back of a van. I was the last one to be shut in._

"_We're from the Government. There are a lot of people that we want gone. You're the ones that will be dealing with them from now on." The man who had said this slammed the door shut, leaving me and four others in total darkness._

I woke up gasping. It was my fault we were all in here. And it's me that is going to get us all out.

**Sorry it took so long to update! I hurt my finger. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, I'm back! Sorry I took a break, it was for revision!**

**Nico's P.O.V:**

The bell went off, signalling it was time for our break. Not that it affected me. I wasn't training to be an assassin, like the others. I was being held in a small, white room similar to solitary. But it was different. Somehow, the government people had figured out how to make a room that constantly drained my energy and meant I couldn't shadow travel out of this place. I don't how they did it, but it worked. I didn't know much. Thalia was granted access to visit me every now and again, and she brought me information. She hadn't visited me in weeks, though. All I knew was that they were planning an escape, and that Chiron was being held next door. They had broken his legs, and without ambrosia or nectar they couldn't be fixed and he couldn't stand. He just lay there, all day.

"Di Angelo. You have a visitor." The man guarding the room pulled the door open and shoved Thalia through. Scowling, she steadied herself. She turned to look at me, and my heart leapt into my throat. We had been dating for a month before _they _came and seeing her like this hurt me. Her face was bruised and covered in cuts, and I could see a bandage around her stomach, sticking out from under her T-shirt.

"Thals? What happened?" I hugged her for a while before releasing her and stepping back.

"We tried to escape. Some others and I were the distraction. We got jumped on by Miss Doe's little henchman. There was a little bit of a tussle, a few punches. Nothing serious until…"

"Until what, Thalia?" I suddenly had a bad feeling about the bandage on her stomach.

"Well, like I said, we got ourselves into a little fight. The others and I were proving a challenge for those beef men. Especially me. I struck one with a lightning bolt and he shot me. I don't remember anything after that, I must have passed out. Apparently I was worth saving though; Miss Doe told me I'd had and operation to remove the bullet and stitches." She smiled weakly. My mouth dropped. Escape had been on the cards ever since we'd got here…But I never imagined anyone would get seriously hurt. Especially not Thalia.

"Oh my Gods… Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Nico. Don't worry about me. It's Annabeth I'm worried about."

"Did she get out?"

"Well, she and Percy made a break for it. They made it to the exit doors. That's further than any rogue Demigod's ever made it. But they didn't get out. Percy got let off, but Annabeth… She's in solitary. Two weeks. And I've heard they've had enough, Nico. Those Government monkeys have had enough with us playing up, not following rules. I don't even wanna think about what solitary is like now." She sighed and rubbed her arms, looking at the ground.

"Hey, hey. It's Annabeth. She's one of the strongest. It's gonna take a lot to break her. She'll be fine."

"I hope you're right." She still didn't look too happy. The guard from outside burst into the room.

"You've been in here a minute too long, Grace. They'll have my head for this." He grabbed her by the shoulder, ignoring her glare, and escorted her out of my room. Slamming the door behind him, he was soon out of sight. She was usually allowed longer than this, I guess they didn't want us planning another escape.

I was worried about Annabeth. I meant what I'd said, she was tough and it would take more than a few whip marks to break her. But this was the government. You never knew what they would do, or what they were capable of. But two weeks was a long time when you're undergoing torture. I'd spent a week in solitary when we first got here and they didn't know what to do with me. It had been bad enough without any another form of punishment being involved. I almost went crazy. But if anybody can survive solitary, and whatever else they throw at her, it's Annabeth. At least, that's what I'm hoping.

**Sorry it's so short! But an update's and update. ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, thanks for the reviews you beautiful people! And you will get your Percabeth, I promise! They are dating in this story, and you'll get them soon. ;) This is Annabeth's POV again, and will always be unless I say at the start of a chapter.**

I gasped as the whip struck my back a fourth time. I had been in solitary for three days now, and it was starting to show on my face. Vicious black rings underlined my eyes, but I wasn't going to give in to them. I wouldn't break down and cry, no matter how much pain I was in. That's what they wanted, the _only_ thing they wanted. They think they can break me? They better think again.

I didn't know the time, but I knew that the guards changed twice a day, presumably switching at lunch time. A short time after the switchover, another guard would enter and give me about fifty lashes with his leather whip. It was slow and painful. He would only ever give me up to five lashes a minute, taking his time to emphasize the pain. After he left, a medical assistant entered. They were clever. They knew how to dress a wound so that it had overnight healing time, but they didn't reduce the pain. I would only sleep for a few hours before I woke up, my back stinging. I had heard stories about solitary, but they were never like this. Demigods that had been confined to this room would sit all day, staring at the blank white walls until their minds turned on them and they went insane. Nobody ever came out completely sane, and nobody had ever told tales of whippings.

The man sneered at me and brought the whip down on my back a fifth time. My shirt was torn where the whip had been striking against it. Winding up his whip, the man left and the medical assistants entered. They sprayed something on my wounds which stung horribly, and then dressed them. They left, and I was left alone in the white room. I sat in a chair in the very centre. On the other side of the wall my friends waited for me to leave this place, so we could try our escape again. I would get them out of this place, if it was the last thing I did. At the moment, it was looking like it could be. But escape was definitely on the cards. A daughter of Athena never gives up.

The hallucinations hit me later on in the day. It was something they were feeding me, and it made me want to claw at my face just to stop the vivid images. The first was my dad and brothers. My stepmother had transformed into a monster, fangs dripping with venom and yellow teeth stained in places by blood. She lunged at them, and then the images changed. Percy stood with his back to me. I called out to him, but he ignored me. I called again and the same thing happened. I called to him a third time, and he whirled around, His eyes were glowing red and his face was blotchy with green scabs. He licked his lips with a black tongue and winked at me. The image shifted again, this time to a beach. The wind seemed to whisper my name as I took a step towards the sea. Suddenly, it started bubbling and spitting. The waves burned bright red and I took a quick step backwards again. A figure shot out of the ocean, landing crumpled at my feet. It was Malcolm, and his neck was broken.

The images disappeared and I gasped. I wasn't a super human- I couldn't always handle the hallucinations and it seemed that my dose-givers were being particularly spiteful towards me today. I scrubbed my hand over my face and forced myself to close my eyes. Images of burning red eyes, a boiling ocean and venomous fangs drifted through my mind unforgivingly.

That was when the idea hit me. And this plan, so wonderful, so creative, so unthinkable, started to brew in my mind. It was the idea I had been racking my brains for, and it was perfect. A wicked smile formed on my lips.

I'd like to see Miss Doe foil _this _plan. Escape would be ours now.

**Once again, sorry for the short update. I promise that the next chapter will be longer. There's no way it could be short even if I tried to make it short. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I will be later updating from now on, as I am losing the time I have to write this. But I won't stop, don't worry.**

"Annabeth!" Percy down to the corridor towards me and hugged me tightly.

"Can't. Breathe." I said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry." He let go of me and kissed me lightly on the lips instead.

"That's okay, Seaweed brain."

"Are you okay?" His eyes came to rest on the ugly red welt on my forehead. On my last day of solitary, the man with the whip had struck my face on the last lash.

"I am now." Allowing myself to just be a girl in love just for one short moment, I laced my fingers through his and we walked towards the exit. It was now guarded by four men with guns 24/7. Miss Doe was waiting for us in front of them.

"Hello Perseus. Annabeth. Nice to see you out of solitary. If you would follow me, please." She clip clopped down the corridor in her stupidly high heels. Reluctantly, we followed. She stopped outside of a locked and heavily guarded door. The security guards let her pass and she swiped her ID card over a beeping monitor. The door clicked open, and we were about to follow her inside when she turned around.

"Problem?" I asked as she stuck her hand out to stop us from going any further.

"Well dearie, after the little stunt you and your friends pulled, we no longer allow you access to any rooms containing weapons. I'm going to have to _ask_ you to stay out here." She smirked at the word 'ask'. She had complete control over us, and she knew it. Anything she wanted you to do had to be done, or you would get a bullet in your chest. Before I could say anything, Percy squeezed my hand and nodded to Miss Doe.

"We'll be fine out here." He said. We waited patiently as she went inside the room. From where I was stood, I could see the wall opposite the door was lined with bullet cartridges. When she came back out again she had in her hands two small guns, a cartridge and two ear pieces.

"Here." I stood still as she attached the ear piece to me and did the same to Percy. Her fingers were freezing cold. She tapped the ear piece in her own ear.

"I also have one. This is how we'll communicate when you're at the journalist's hotel." She handed us our guns, and Percy the extra cartridge.

"Annabeth, your gun has one bullet. We don't trust you with more. You will be in charge of taking him out. Percy, your gun has ten, and that extra cartridge in case of emergencies. We ask that you try not to shoot anyone else unless it's necessary. You will be guarding the door."

So I was the one that had to do the deed? Sure I'd killed monsters before, but they never really died. This was way different anyway. This was a human. A son, maybe a brother or even a father. After today, I would be a murderer. I looked at Percy, and I could tell he knew exactly what I was thinking. Miss Doe started to walk back towards the exit, and Percy subtly stuck his foot out. She fell and landed face first on the floor. The guards rushed over to help her up, and I bolted into the weapons room. I grabbed four more cartridges, stuffed them into my pockets, and ran back out again. The guards turned just as I started to walk towards where Miss Doe had fallen. I nodded to them as they passed me.

"Well, that was interesting. Did you enjoy that Percy? Keep your feet to yourself, please." She walked back towards the exit and we followed, smiling. Just as Miss Doe was about to punch in the number code to unlock the door, she turned to us.

"Annabeth. One last thing. He thinks you're meeting him to give him information for his article. You get in his room. You find out what he knows, who else has copies of his half-finished article, who else knows what he knows and what he's published. You shoot him. Neck, eye, temple, whatever. I don't care. Just kill him cleanly. A car will be waiting for you at the back of the hotel. Find out as much as you can, but if you have to shoot first without interrogating him then go for it. Good luck." With that, she punched in the code. The doors slid open, revealing an elevator. Percy and I stepped in and pressed the 'up' button. I dreaded to think what could be on the floors below us. The doors clicked shut and the elevator shot up with a whoosh. When the doors clicked open again, I inwardly sighed. A flight of stairs stood before us.

"How hidden does this place need to be?" Percy mumbled and I snorted.

"It's a top secret government facility that covers classified missions, Percy. It kind of needs to be hidden." I rolled my eyes and stepped out of the elevator.

"Come on." I started to climb the stairs, and he followed me. At the top was a hole, big enough for a grown man to fit through, covered by a manhole cover. I pushed off the cover. The officials were passing of the flight of stairs of as a sewage system? I had to admit, I was pretty impressed. I wouldn't go looking for a government assassin's training facility down a sewage pipe.

Sunlight seeped through the hole, and I took a deep breath as I climbed out. How long had I dreamt of the outside? How many times had I imagined the breeze whistling through my hair, the sun on my face or the grass crunching under my shoes? I glanced around at our surroundings. We were surrounded by hills, grass and trees. Nothing else. A car was parked in a small lane about a hundred metres away. I had expected a big black car or something, but that would have been a bit obvious. Instead, a brown and green Land Rover waited for us.

"Ready?" Percy whispered in my ear. I took his hand for the second time that day. That was basically a luxury.

"Ready."

We walked confidently towards the Land Rover. We were walking towards an innocent man's death, and I couldn't say I couldn't refuse the mission. I couldn't run back to the facility I had tried so hard to escape from. I was helpless, and I hate being helpless. I kept going, knowing that my plan was soon about to be put into action.

**Yay! Finally, a longer chapter! I'm hoping/thinking that the next chapter will be pretty long as well! As always, I'm grateful for reviews and suggestions. :) Sorry it took me a while to get this update up!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow, I haven't updated in a long time! I'm sorry!**

"So this is the hotel?"

"Looks like it. He's staying in room 203. Follow me." I led the way into the hotel. It was small, and fairly old. But I could see that a long time ago that it was an amazing building. The lobby had a tiled floor, and was cold. Just as we were about to walk up the flight of stairs, we were stopped.

"Excuse me? I haven't seen you around here. You'll need to check in to get your room." The lady sat in reception called to us.

"Wait here." I muttered to Percy, and he nodded. I walked over to the desk and smiled at the lady.

"Have you booked a room?" She asked.

"No no, my boyfriend and I are visiting a friend. We haven't seen him in so long! It feels like years, though I'm sure it was just six months since he started his research trip here. We know him from San Francisco. He told us his room number; can we make our way up there now?" I smiled widely again.

"Hmm. Okay." The lady said, raising an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes and went back to typing; obviously presuming we weren't worth any bother. I walked back over to Percy.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I handled it." I said, and made my way up the stairs. Percy followed me, taking my hand.

When we reached the door, I turned to Percy.

"When I say 'jump' don't question me, okay?"

"Jump? We're on the second floor Annabeth…It'll hurt."

"Just do it, okay?"

"Okay. I'll come in with you then. I trust you have a plan Wisegirl?"

"Always, Seaweed brain. Always." I smiled slightly before picking the lock on the door and entering the room, gun raised. Percy closed the door behind us. The journalist had dark brown hair and grey eyes, similar but the same as mine. He couldn't have been older than twenty five. He froze in his chair when he saw me.

"I knew it. I knew I shouldn't have started writing about that Government place! They sent you, didn't they? You're here to kill me!" He panicked.

"Don't worry." I said. "Yes, we were sent here to kill you. But we won't. We're being forced to do this. But you got lucky that they sent us for you, and nobody else. You have to stop writing this article. Okay?"

"Sure, anything! Just don't kill me! I have a wife…" He breathed deeply, not taking his eyes off of us. My ear piece started to crackle.

"Annabeth Chase! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you with this!" I heard Miss Doe's voice in my ear. I knew that she could hear every word I said, which is why I hoped my plan worked. The door was kicked down from the outside, and three men with guns charged in.

"JUMP!" I yelled. I charged towards the window. Percy grabbed the journalist by the elbow, and we leapt from the window to meet the gravel below.

The pain was blinding. It made my head spin, my bones ache, and my vision go funny. But I was up like a shot. Percy was up just as fast, pulling the journalist along with him as we ran for the cover of the nearby forest. I loaded my gun with more bullets as I ran. Dodging shots and firing back our own, we made it to the trees.

Time for phase two.

**I actually started writing this chapter a few weeks ago, I don't know why it took me so long to write it. :L Sorry.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I was on holiday, and I forgot to tell you. :( Also, I forgot mention that Percy isn't invincible in this story.**

"I'll kill your friends for this, Chase. All of them." Miss Doe walked slowly up and down in front of me. I was sat in a metal chair, handcuffed to it. A large man with a gun stood to attention behind me. The walls were white, but we weren't in solitary. This was much worse. We were in the penalty room. This was where the agency sent the rogue assassins. This was the last place they ever saw, the place of their death.

"No you won't. You need them to _murder _people for you." I spat in her face as she walked past me again. Her eyes blazed in anger for a moment, before she returned to her calmer state. She stepped an inch closer to me, drew back her hand, and slapped me full force across the face. I gasped and my eyes stung a little, but I was stronger than this. Being forced to live in this place and toughened me up even more, and tears never came anymore. I hadn't cried since my first night in the facility.

"Oh Annabeth. When are you going to understand that when someone messes with Government business or attacks an official, we need to deal with them in the most…_easiest _manner? No matter, I will have to kill you now anyway. Shame, really. You had so much potential." With that, the man behind me tossed Miss Doe a syringe. It was filled with a toxic that would kill me as soon as it punctured my skin and entered my blood stream. Bending over me, she shot the lethal injection into my arm.

Gasping, I awoke. A cold sweat dripped down my back. I looked around at my surroundings, a thick forest. Percy was sleeping on the grass next to me and another man sleeping a meter away from us. It was early night time. Then all of the memories came back to me.

Yesterday we had escaped the facility, gone AWOL during a mission. We had run until we stopped hearing bullets being fired. If my calculations were right, and they always were, then we were roughly five miles away from the hotel we had run from. Far too close for my liking.

"Percy." I whispered, shaking my boyfriend awake.

"Wha-?" He mumbled, opening his eyes. I turned away as soon as he looked at me. Those green eyes could make my knees go weak, and right now I need to be strong.

"Get up, Seaweed Brain. Wake the journalist, we need to move. , Miss Doe will have every man she has on the lookout for us." I said, looking back at him. I heard a shot, and instinctively ducked. A bullet flew over my head and planted itself into a tree. The journalist was instantly a wake, and Percy jumped to his feet. We both scooped up our weapons, and I grabbed the man's arm.

Just like that, I was running for my life again.

**Sorry, another short chapter! But anyone that can give me a good name for a male journalist will get credited ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**I know, I know, it's been a long time since I last updated. I'm sorry, I don't really have an excuse and I know I hate it when authors try to make excuses. So, here's an update! But firstly:**

**Shoutouts go to:**

**Lightning-AND'DEATH**

**MashPotatoesquishbanana**

**Tenebrae Erebus**

**Killjoy black soul**

**Jelliebuttons25**

**Blackwolfy**

**Thank you everyone for your ideas, but I've decided to mix it up and go with something a little unexpected…**

The trees flashed by me, turning to green and black blurs as I raced through the forest again. Shots were being fired behind us, but Percy, the journalist and I had a good head start and it was fairly easy to dodge the bullets.

"Annabeth! We need a plan!" Percy yelled from behind me. He was clutching the journalist's elbow, dragging him along. I thought as we ran, jumping over roots and fallen branches. For the first time ever, my mind was blank. _Come on, Annabeth. Think! Athena, please guide me, help me to come up with a plan._

"I've got it! Keep running Percy, and don't stop no matter what you hear!" I yelled, halting in my path.

"What? No way, I'm not leaving you!" He stopped as well, the journalist jerking to a stop next to him.

"I'll be _fine _Percy! Please, you have to go!"

"You really think I would leave you here alone? No way Annabeth, I love you too much to do that. So sorry, but I'm staying here if you are."

"I love you too." I said, holding back a sigh. If he didn't keep running, then my whole plan would be messed up. If I got shot then the men chasing us would stop to catch me. If I got killed, then they would have to deal with my body and Percy would be safe.

"Then you'll understand why I'm not leaving you." Just then, another shot fired and I screamed. There was an immense pain in my thigh, and I fell to the ground moaning. Clutching the bullet wound, I looked up at Percy as he crouched down next to me.

"You have to run. This was my plan. Please, just take the journalist and leave." I put my hand up to stroke his face, but he caught it with his own and wrapped it around his neck.

"No way, Annabeth. We're not leaving you behind." He slipped his other hand around my waist and pulled me onto me feet.

"Percy, stop! You have to leave me!" At that moment, the three men burst through the trees.

"Percy, Annabeth. We will be escorting you back to the agency now. I hope you're both ready for a month of solitary." The man closest to us smirked evilly.

"But first." The man on the end, the one that had shot me, pointed his gun at the journalist. "We have to take out _him_."

"Close your eyes!" Our companion yelled. Percy and I did so, and I felt my eyelids singe slightly. When we reopened them again, the gunmen were gone. The journalist was also gone, and in his place stood Hermes, the messenger of the Gods.

"Lord Hermes? What happened to the men?" Percy asked, frowning slightly.

"I revealed my true divine form. They're gone now. And the journalist was me." He said, looking down at us. As a God, he had a metre on Percy and I. His salt and pepper hair looked the same as always, and he wore a blue tracksuit. His phone, strangely, was not making any noise or vibrating.

"I don't understand. Why did you disguise yourself as a journalist? Why did you write an article about the Assassins Agency?" I asked, running my fingers through my ponytail. There had to be a good reason why Hermes was here.

"It's a long story."

"Well right now we have time. So tell us." Percy said, gently sitting me on the ground. My leg burned and the cold made it ache.

"Zeus sent me to Calypso's island to tell her that she was free. It took me two months to find Ogygia, that stupid moving island. By the time I got back, the whole of Olympus was unreachable. You couldn't go in, you couldn't come out. Iris messaging was disabled, and I had no way of contacting the other Gods. And I'm the only God that knows the whereabouts of her royal heinous Gaea. It may interest you to know."

"Where is she?" I asked wearily. I couldn't see how this would help us with freeing our friends, but I guess it was pretty important information.

"I believe she goes by the name of Miss Doe?" Hermes replied. My blood ran cold, and my heart seemed to stop for a second. I glanced at Percy. He had the same shocked look on his face as I'm sure I did.

"She runs the Agency! We have to save the others, quickly."

"Annabeth's right, Hermes. I don't even wanna think about what she'll do to our friends." Percy said, a worried look on his face. Hermes' eyes narrowed as he thought about what he should do.

"Very well. As you know, the Gods are not allowed to interfere with quests. But I can give you a little parting gift. This is not the last you will see of me during your adventure, but I must gather an army. I don't need to be Apollo to see there is a war coming, so I must travel to Greece. Good luck, Demigods." He clapped his hands and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, two figures stood in the final wisps. They both looked confused, but they both broke into huge grins when they saw us.

"Hey, guys. Long-time no see, right?" Nico smiled, and so did Thalia.

**I hope none of you saw that coming…. :) I know I haven't updated in a while, but this story runs off of reviews, hint hint. ;) See you next chapter, you awesome readers.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, I'm sorry guys but I'm going on holiday for the whole summer. If I can get in an update before I leave then I will, but I won't have internet connection when I'm there. Again, I'm sorry. I know I haven't been very frequent with my updates and it pisses me off when other authors do that, so I'll try and get on top of it and give you a weekly update at least. **

**Read, eat cookies, and be happy - FinnickOdair-Will-Live-Forever**


	11. Chapter 11

**So it turns out that even though I don't have internet connection, I can write which means that when I get back I can update this. :)**

Percy and I filled Thalia and Nico in on what they've missed.

"So this journalist was Hermes?" Thalia asked.

"Yes."

"And Miss Doe is Gaia?"

"Yeah. And her men are all monsters."

"Holy Zeus…" Nico trailed off.

_You are on Alcatraz Island. You are in the forest that nobody ever knew existed. It is invisible to mortal eyes. To defeat Gaia, you must travel to the Sea of Monsters. There is an old sorceress that lives on a deserted island. If you can get her on your side, she will lend you her army. Only when Gaia is defeated will the Gods be free. A boat is waiting for you in the harbour. _I heard Hermes voice in my head.

"Wow…Did anyone else just get the God in their head?" Percy asked, and I nodded. Thalia and Nico nodded as well.

"Then we know where we need to go." I said, and pulled myself off of the floor.

"Annabeth, you're not going anywhere with a bullet wound in your leg." Percy said, as I held onto him to stop myself from falling.

"But we have to keep moving; otherwise Gaia will send more of her monsters after us!" I protested.

"Annabeth, I got shot too. It really hurts. I know what pain you're feeling. You can't walk properly." Thalia said. I looked at her, and saw the bandage poking out from underneath her Green Day shirt.

"We should rest." Nico said, taking one of my arms as Percy took the other. I kept protesting as they lifted me up.

"Put me down, or I swear to the Gods I will shoot both of you!" I screamed. They put me down, but did not let go of my arm.

"Annabeth, calm down." Thalia said as she walked over to me. She swatted at the boys, and they stepped back. Thalia ripped some material off of Percy's shirt and, ignoring his glare, bandaged my wound. She put her arm around my waist and I put mine around her shoulders. Slowly, we started walking, hopefully, in the direction of the harbour. Reluctantly, Percy and Nico followed us. A memory came into by head. When the Hunt came to stay at Camp the winter before the war, something kind of like what was happing now had happened.

_Flashback:_

"_Hey, Thals. Why did you join the Hunt?" I asked Thalia. We were shooting arrows at a target in the middle of the woods. Thalia was wearing her Hunters clothes and her Lieutenant circlet over her dark hair. I was wearing jeans and my Camp Half-blood shirt. It was a hot day even though it was the middle of winter._

"_I'm not sure really. It seemed like a good idea."_

"_But don't you miss your friends from here?"_

"_I have new friends now. But yes Annabeth, I do miss you and Percy. And even Death Breath." She smiled, and shot another arrow. It hit the bullseye. At that moment, seven black spiders burst through the trees. They came up to my waist, and had huge fangs. I dropped my bow and started screaming. Percy and Nico jumped out of a nearby tree and started slashing at the spiders with their swords. They had probably been eavesdropping on mine and Thalia's conversation. One of the spiders launched itself at me, and I rolled out of the way. I snapped into action and went to grab my bow, before realizing that it had been mangled by a spider. Instead I pulled out my knife and stabbed a spider right in its eye. Thalia had taken down three, Nico and Percy had each taken down one and only one remained. Before she could move, it sunk both of its disgusting fangs into Thalia's calf. Screaming, she kicked it away and Nico slashed his sword right through its body. It started to disintegrate, and I raced over to Thalia. She was leaning against a tree, breathing deeply and sweating, with her hand pressed to her calf. I ripped some material off of my shirt and wrapped it around her wound, tying it off with a jerk. She groaned in pain._

"_Sorry." I mumbled, and stepped back so that Nico could sling her over his shoulder. Percy and I walked behind them, sharing the occasional worried glance. As we made our way up to the infirmary, the Hunters stopped whatever they were doing to glare at Nico. _

_After a dose of ambrosia, Thalia was fine._

"Thalia, were the Hunt taken as well?" I asked. We were almost at the edge of the forest, and I could see the sea.

"Yes. But they didn't know I was a Hunter because I wasn't silver, I was wearing my Death to Barbie top- Remember? I don't know where they're keeping the Hunters."

"Guys, look!" Percy pointed towards the sea. We all stopped walking. The harbour had just come into view. Waiting for us was a lone boat. It was huge, with full sails and masts. A crew of the Undead ran about, preparing to set sail.

"This is it. Our quest starts when we get on that boat." I said, and we carried on walking.


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own The Percy Jackson Series. **

When we reached the boat, Percy picked me up and took me down a ladder to some kind of cabin that was filled with all different kinds of medicines and medical plants. He laid me in a hammock and then looked at me, clearly puzzled.

"I have no idea how to treat that thing. And I don't have any ambrosia or nectar on me right now." He said, patting his pockets.

"Try a bandage maybe?" I said, rolling my eyes at him. "Gods Percy, you're such a Seaweed Brain."

"Whatever, Wisegirl." He grinned as he retrieved a bandaged from a drawer and started to wrap it around my wound and jeans.

"Oh for the love of Zeus…Get me some scissors." I sigh. My boyfriend can be so _stupid _sometimes. He gave them to me and I cut the leg of my jeans off, just above my bullet wound. It looked like I was wearing shorts on one leg, and my normal jeans on the other. The bullet hole was pussing, and still bleeding. Percy helped me clean it out, and then I carefully wrapped the bandage around it.

"I'll staple the two ends together." Percy said. He fetched the stapler, and I was sure he was going to put one in my thigh by accident. It surprised me when he didn't, and the bandage stayed up when I stood.

"Get me that stick?" I asked, pointing to a wooden cane in the corner of the cabin. Percy gave it to me before getting another roll of bandage, and we climbed slowly up the ladder and onto the deck.

"Everything alright?" Thalia asked when she saw me.

"Yeah. It should clear up in a few days and I won't need this stupid stick." I grumbled.

"Look on the bright side." Nico said. Ironic, considering his father is Hades.

"What, exactly, would the bright side be?" I sighed.

"When Percy annoys you, you can beat him with it." He smirked. Thalia and I laughed. Percy did not.

"Oh, here Thals. I picked this up for you." Percy tossed Thalia the roll of bandage and she began to change her own blood stained bandages for the new ones. Nico went to help her, but she swatted his hand away.

"I think we should talk to our crew." I said. The boat was just starting to leave the harbour. I approached the one of the undead dudes. He looked like he was the captain; he was bigger than all the overs.

"Do you know where the Island is?" I asked him. He nodded, and showed me a map. He had planned out our whole route on the map. Good. I like a man with a plan. However, I also like my men alive…

"That was easy." I said as I made my way back to Thalia, Nico and Percy. I took Percy's outstretched hand and smiled at him.

"We looked around while you two lovebirds were dressing your wound, Percy." Nico said.

"There's two cabins for us, the boiler room, and a storage room. Annabeth, you and I will share one. Those two idiots can share the other. Please, they have stoves in them. Do _not _burn the boat down." Thalia said. She addressed the last part to Percy and Nico. They saluted to her, and we followed them down a different ladder to the one I went down earlier. It led to a hallway, and Thalia and I took the room in front of the ladder.

"Gotcha!" Thalia said. She had slid her hand under the door to pick up the key from the floor inside the cabin. She handed it to me, and I unlocked it. There were two beds pressed up against the wall in the cabin, and in between them was a nightstand with a candle on top. There was a stove, sink, cupboard and wardrobe along the wall opposite the beds, and a round window on the wall opposite the door.

"Um… Where's the bathroom?" I asked Thalia.

"Down the hall." She responded, throwing herself onto the bed nearest the window. "You should get some rest, Annabeth. This is going to be a _long _ship ride."


	13. Chapter 13

**It's been a while. :O Updates with this might be slow, and I've realised how appallingly bad my grammar was when I started this. Oh well. I don't own PJO. Oh, and sorry if Annabeth starts to sound a little like Clove from The Hunger Games, I've mainly been writing from her POV. :)**

_Faster. Faster. You have to out run them. You can do it Annabeth, you know you can. _

"_But what if you can't?"_ _A voice in my head whispered. It was Percy's voice._

"_You're weak." Thalia's voice joined Percy's in my head. I kept running from my chaser, my calves and thighs burning with every step I took. _

"_You'll never get away. You don't have the courage." Nico's voice was there too._

"_We'll all die because of you!" Clarisse yelled in my head._

"_You left us with Gaia!" Malcolm joined in._

"_Stop! I'm sorry!" I yelled, but my voice was hoarse. I had to focus on running, or whatever creature was chasing me would catch up and I would die._

"_You are no daughter of mine." Athena's sharp voice pinballed around my brain, practically rattling my skull. A burning pain shot up my spine and I fell to the ground, gasping. I glanced up at the sky as my body curled in on itself painfully. Miss Doe's grinning face popped into my eyesight, only it wasn't her as I had known her for a year with her pant suits and pencil skirts. It was her head alright, but she had the body of a bear and the tail of a scorpion. She spun and lashed the poison coated tail down at me. It sliced open my stomach before I had the chance to roll over. My friends' faces flashed in front of me, each of them wearing disapproving looks. Then my mother appeared, as stone faced as ever, and everything went black._

I started and awoke, cold sweat running from my forehead to my pillow. I had unknowingly balled my fists up, so I released the handfuls of bed sheet I had balled up with them. Drearily, I sat up and checked to see if Thalia was still asleep. She was sleeping peacefully for once, so I stood and quietly slipped my feet into my trainers. Raking a hand through my messy ponytail, I crept towards the door. I wondered around the ship decks until I found the ladder to the very top deck.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked when I reached the top deck.

"I didn't want to bother you. I figured if you were awake, you'd be up here." I shrugged and sat down on the floor next to him, resting my head against shoulder. He rested his cheek on top of my head.

"You're sweaty. Bad dream?" He asked, lifting his head again.

"I guess so." I shrugged again and lifted my own head. "What about you?"

"I dreamt of my father. He was in a prison, he didn't say where. He said it wasn't time for me to know. All he told me is that it's nearly time for the war, and to watch out for…Something." Percy frowned and I could tell he was hiding something from me.

"I hope he's okay." I said lamely.

"I hope they _all _are." Percy said. "What about you?"

"Hm?"

"You're dream. What was it about?" He asked. I was a little reluctant to tell him. He was keeping something from me, and he had been in the dream. But he was _Percy_. Dumb, goofy, brave Percy and I could tell him anything.

"What if I'm not good enough and this all goes wrong? What if I die? What if Thalia or Nico dies? What if _you _die? It would be all my fault. It was because of me that we all got locked in that place and you almost got shot escaping with me. If this goes wrong and our escape was for nothing…I can't imagine anything worse than spending another year in that stupid facility." I muttered.

"Hey." Percy lifted my chin with his finger. His sea green eyes starred into my grey ones and I felt my breath catch in my throat. I hated that he could this to me, but I loved it at the same time.

"You are one of the strongest people I know." He rested his other hand on my cheek. "With you as a leader, we'll definitely succeed. You've never failed any of us before. As for Thalia and Nico, they know how risky this is. They want to escape just as much as we do, if not more. If I die, then I die knowing that I helped the most amazing half-blood I've ever met with her mission to take over the world."

"_Save _the world. I'm not taking it over just yet." I said. My smile was small, but it was still a smile.

"I'll be right by your side when you do." Percy grinned and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thanks, Perce. Goodnight." I stood and brushed the dirt from my pyjama pants. He saluted me, still grinning.

"Night, Captain Chase."

"At peace, first mate." I laughed and made my way down the ladder. Percy had a way of always cheering me up. I didn't care that he was hiding something from me, there was nobody else I'd rather be on a ship sailed by the undead with.

I slipped back into the cabin, but Thalia was gone. Her shoes were still there, and so was her bracelet and bow. She wouldn't leave without her weapons, even if she was going to pee. I glanced around the room, my eyes resting on the port-hole window. It was open. I ran over to it and studied the lock. It was busted. Thalia could sleep through a car crash, and the window was just about big enough to drag a sleeping girl through.

"Thalia I swear if you're hiding from or playing some kind of stupid joke, I'm gonna kick your ass." I hissed, crouching down to check the space beneath her bed. It was empty.

Thalia Grace had been kidnapped right from under our noses.


End file.
